Crystal Swing
Encyclopedia
Crystal Swing is a new wave Country and Western and Country and Irish
musical group, from Lisgoold
, Cork
, Ireland
. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her teenage children Dervla and Derek Burke.
The group rose to national fame and/or notoriety in February 2010 when a YouTube
video of their single "He Drinks Tequila" became a viral sensation after their video was posted by several well-known bloggers including drag
performer Panti
and comedy writers Robert Popper
and Graham Linehan
. A few days later the video was posted by Sean Moncrieff on the website of radio station Newstalk. The video achieved 80,000 hits in four days and as of 2 April 2010 the group's video have collectively received over 1,000,000 hits on YouTube. "He Drinks Tequila" gained international recognition on 3 March when American chat show host and American Idol
judge Ellen DeGeneres
sent a link to the YouTube video on her official Twitter
page. Despite being offered to perform on Newstalk, Crystal Swing opted to perform on the RTÉ
flagship show The Late Late Show
, the longest running chat show in the world, who demanded exclusive rights.Despite their sudden rise to fame, the band has come under some criticism, most notably from Ian O'Doherty
in the Irish Independent
.
Derek mentioned on The Late Late Show that he is a fan of the showbands, and is influenced by Brendan Bowyer
and Declan Ryan. He also performed The Hucklebuck on the show.
On 17 March 2010 (Saint Patrick's Day
), U.S. TV host Ellen DeGeneres
showed a clip of Crystal Swing on her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
. On 18 March 2010, the single "He Drinks Tequila" entered the Irish Singles Chart
at number 18.
. This video was then posted on YouTube, and immediately gained a reaction, gaining thousands of views daily. TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres
tweeted about the group. On 12 March, they made their first live television appearance on Irish television on The Late Late Show
with Ryan Tubridy
. On 15 March, they appeared on Newstalk 106-108fm with Seán Moncrieff
, and on 16 March they appeared on The Afternoon Show
. Later in the month they made appearances on Xposé
and Ireland AM
. On 6 April, they flew to Hollywood to make an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
. The show was recorded on Thursday 8 April, and was broadcasted in America on Monday, April 12. The group are due to start a nationwide tour on May 10. They also plan to play in Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
in early December.
Country and Irish
Country and Irish is a musical subgenre in Ireland formed by mixing North American country style music with Irish influences. It is especially popular in the rural Midlands and North-West of the country, but less so in urban areas or in the South-West where more traditional Irish music is favoured...
musical group, from Lisgoold
Lisgoold
Lisgoold is a small village in East Cork, Ireland.Famous inhabitants: Crystal Swing, P.N Fitzgerald one of the early members of the GAA, and Tomas McCabe .-References:...
, Cork
East Cork
East Cork lies in south-west Ireland in Ireland's largest county, Co. Cork.East Cork contains the world's second largest natural harbour Cork Harbour, which is also home to the world's oldest yacht club. St...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her teenage children Dervla and Derek Burke.
The group rose to national fame and/or notoriety in February 2010 when a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video of their single "He Drinks Tequila" became a viral sensation after their video was posted by several well-known bloggers including drag
Drag
- In science and technology :* Drag , the force which resists motion of an object through a fluid* Drag equation, a mathematical equation used in analyzing the magnitude of drag caused by fluid flow...
performer Panti
Panti
Panti is a drag queen character performed by Rory O'Neill , originally from Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland.- Biography :Since 1996 Panti has been the hostess of the annual Alternative Miss Ireland pageant. Panti spent several years in Tokyo, , she returned to Ireland in 1995...
and comedy writers Robert Popper
Robert Popper
Robert Popper is a BAFTA winning comedy producer, writer and actor, best known as co-creator of the mock BBC documentary Look Around You, in which he also plays the part of Jack Morgan...
and Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
. A few days later the video was posted by Sean Moncrieff on the website of radio station Newstalk. The video achieved 80,000 hits in four days and as of 2 April 2010 the group's video have collectively received over 1,000,000 hits on YouTube. "He Drinks Tequila" gained international recognition on 3 March when American chat show host and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
judge Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
sent a link to the YouTube video on her official Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page. Despite being offered to perform on Newstalk, Crystal Swing opted to perform on the RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
flagship show The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
, the longest running chat show in the world, who demanded exclusive rights.Despite their sudden rise to fame, the band has come under some criticism, most notably from Ian O'Doherty
Ian O'Doherty
Ian O'Doherty is a columnist who works for the Irish Independent. His "iSpy" column is published Monday – Thursday and contains news articles blended with comedy and opinion. On Fridays O'Doherty publishes a rather more serious column containing his opinion on a chosen subject in "The World...
in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
.
Derek mentioned on The Late Late Show that he is a fan of the showbands, and is influenced by Brendan Bowyer
Brendan Bowyer
Brendan Bowyer, born 12 October 1938 in Waterford, Ireland, is an Irish singer best known for fronting The Royal Showband, who had five number one hits in Ireland, and The Big Eight. He is also renowned for having The Beatles open for him at a concert in 1962 at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, and...
and Declan Ryan. He also performed The Hucklebuck on the show.
On 17 March 2010 (Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
), U.S. TV host Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
showed a clip of Crystal Swing on her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
. On 18 March 2010, the single "He Drinks Tequila" entered the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
at number 18.
2010
Early in the year, Crystal Swing appeared on satellite television show, Rural TVRural TV
RURAL TV is the Rural lifestyle and culture television channel and brand, broadcast in the United Kingdom. In addition, the channel broadcast free-to-air throughout Europe on the Eurobird 1 satellite...
. This video was then posted on YouTube, and immediately gained a reaction, gaining thousands of views daily. TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
tweeted about the group. On 12 March, they made their first live television appearance on Irish television on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
with Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy , affectionately known as "Tubs", is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"...
. On 15 March, they appeared on Newstalk 106-108fm with Seán Moncrieff
Seán Moncrieff
Seán Moncrieff is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and writer. He currently presents the weekday afternoon radio show Moncrieff on Newstalk. His television credits include his own Raidió Teilifís Éireann chat show Good Grief Moncrieff!, comedy panel show Don't Feed the Gondolas, and The...
, and on 16 March they appeared on The Afternoon Show
The Afternoon Show
The Afternoon Show was Raidió Teilifís Éireann's live flagship daytime show. It ran from 2004 until May 2010. The programme was dropped by RTÉ as part of its new season of television in 2010, to be replaced by two afternoon programmes 4 Daily presented by Maura Derrane and The Daily Show hosted by...
. Later in the month they made appearances on Xposé
Xposé
Xposé is an Irish entertainment/celebrity gossip programme, broadcast weekday evenings at 6pm on TV3, with a repeat the following day at 12:50pm on TV3 and again at 6.30pm on 3e .-History and format:...
and Ireland AM
Ireland AM
Ireland AM is Ireland's only breakfast television programme. The show is broadcast live every weekday morning by TV3 and 3e.- Early years :...
. On 6 April, they flew to Hollywood to make an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
. The show was recorded on Thursday 8 April, and was broadcasted in America on Monday, April 12. The group are due to start a nationwide tour on May 10. They also plan to play in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
in early December.
Studio Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| 2008 | Sweet Dreams
|
— | — |
| 2010 | The Best Years Of Our Lives
Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
56 | — |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
|||
| 2010 | "He Drinks Tequila" | 18 | The Best Years Of Our Lives |
| "The Hucklebuck" | 42 | ||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | |||